58 THE LAND AND ITS PROBLEMS 



THE LABOURER 



The agricultural labourers outnumber the farmers 

 by about two to one. This proportion would be much 

 greater if it were not for the large number of small- 

 holders (cultivators holding under 50 acres), who are 

 classed as farmers. Also it should be remembered that 

 the proportion of labourers to employers has varied as 

 the proportion of pasture to arable has varied ; grassland 

 employs little labour and this, from the national point 

 of view, is one of the strongest arguments for reducing 

 the area of grass and increasing the area of arable. 



It is a matter for great regret that the interests of the 

 labourer and of the farmer are held to be divergent, to 

 an extent unparalleled in any other country. This 

 divergence in interest is due to several causes, chief 

 among which are : — 



(i) The fact that the agricultural industry is not in a 

 highly organized condition and therefore does not tend 

 to unite all those engaged in it. 



(2) That the labourer, for many generations, has 

 been a paid " hand " with no direct interest in the land 

 he tills. 



(3) A feeling of grievance at the way in which en- 

 closure was effected still survives. 



(4) The way in which the poor laws were administered 

 between 1810 and 1836. 



(5) The deliberate policy of a certain type of politician 

 in setting one class against another since 1884. 



(6) The attitude of many farmers to their men, 

 treating them as beings of a lower order. 



It is a commonplace that the labourer votes in op- 

 position to the farmer, and this attitude is a great barrier 



